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Netanyahu doubles down on cease-fire talk, says Israel will eliminate Hamas

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Netanyahu doubles down on cease-fire talk, says Israel will eliminate Hamas

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Hamas and Israel’s opposition leader both expressed support Monday for a cease-fire deal that President Joe Biden said was proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, even as Netanyahu disputed Biden’s version of the plan.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said Monday that Hamas views Netanyahu’s proposal, unveiled by Biden last week, “positively,” according to a translation by the Times of Israel. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, in a briefing Monday, said the U.S. is awaiting an official response from Hamas on the proposal, which the group received Thursday.

In Israel, Netanyahu political rival Yair Lapid urged the government to approve the deal and promised to provide a “political safety net” if the prime minister’s far-right partners follow up on threats and pull out of the fragile ruling coalition.

“The Israeli government should agree to Netanyahu’s proposal and send a delegation to Cairo today to finalize the final details and bring home the men, the young women, the elderly, the soldiers and the female soldiers who are imprisoned in the tunnels,” Lapid said.

Biden said Netanyahu had offered a three-phase plan that included return of all hostages and Israel’s complete withdrawal from Gaza by the end of phase two. Netanyahu, however, on Monday called Biden’s description of the proposal as “incomplete,” saying Israel maintains “the aims of the war, primarily the elimination of Hamas.”

Biden says Israel has offered a plan: 6-week Gaza cease-fire and hostage release

Developments:

∎ More than half all structures in Gaza appear to have been destroyed or damaged since war began Oct. 7, according to preliminary satellite analysis by the U.N.

∎ Hundreds marched for peace through the center of Jerusalem in a display of cross-religious solidarity. Organizers say the march was meant to counter Jerusalem Day’s nationalist Flag March, planned for Wednesday.

Netanyahu on Gaza cease-fire: Says Hamas must be destroyed

Right-wing Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir accused Netanyahu of “whitewashing” the proposed cease-fire deal and threatened to pull his political party out of the ruling coaltion if it is approved. Ben-Gvir said his repeated efforts to view details of the deal have been rejected by Netanyahu’s office.

“The details of the deal, as presented by President Biden, show that it is a deal that means the surrender of Israel and the end of the war without achieving the main goal of destroying Hamas,” Ben-Gvir said in a statement. “If you sign a promiscuous deal that will bring an end to the war without the collapse of Hamas, Otzma Yehudit (Ben-Gvir’s party) will dissolve the government.”

A coalition of more than two dozen U.N. human rights experts on Monday urged all nations to recognize the State of Palestine and use all available political and diplomatic resources to forge an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. The call came less than a week after Spain, Ireland and Norway joined more than 140 nations in officially recognizing a Palestinian state. Israel has repeatedly condemned such action, saying it strengthens militant Hamas. The U.S. has sided with Israel, saying a solution must be negotiated.

“This recognition is an important acknowledgement of the rights of the Palestinian people and their struggles and suffering toward freedom and independence,” the U.N. experts said in a statement.

Maldives announced plans to ban Israeli passport holders from entering the Indian Ocean island nation, known for being a luxury travel destination, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas War. Mohamed Muizzu, president of the predominantly Muslim country, previously condemned Israel over a recent strike on Rafah in southern Gaza that led to the death of 45 Palestinians who had sought refuge in an Israeli-established, temporary refugee camp.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a Facebook post that it is advising Israeli citizens to avoid traveling to Maldives, and for any Israeli citizens currently in the country to leave, “since if they fall into distress for any reason, it will be difficult for us to help.”

− Savannah Kuchar

Maldives to ban Israelis from entering country as protest over Gaza war

Biden said last week that Netanyahu had proposed the three-phase deal. The first phase would last six weeks and include “complete cease-fire and withdrawal” of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza. It would also include the release of some hostages, including women, the elderly and the wounded in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Phase 2 would include the release of all remaining living hostages, full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the “cessation of hostilities permanently.”

Phase 3 would include a major reconstruction plan for Gaza, and the bodies of any of other hostages killed in captivity would be returned to their families.

Contributing: Francesca Chamers and Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy

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